The bond between King Charles and Kate Middleton has always been an extraordinary one. Currently, they both receive treatments for cancer. The news of Charles’ cancer diagnosis following a procedure for an enlarged prostate came around the same time when the Palace announced The Princess of Wales would be undergoing a planned abdominal surgery.
However, while the King detailed his exact diagnosis which required a surgery, Kate hadn’t done that.
Although Kate is entitled not to provide any medical details, the public wasn’t happy she kept the exact reason of her abdominal surgery private. As per the Palace, she was supposed to recover from her surgery and be able to return to her royal duties around Easter, but then, on March 22, amidst the rumors and speculations surrounding her health and whereabouts, Kate released a video in which she opened up of her cancer diagnosis which was discovered by doctors after running tests following her surgery.
“My medical team, therefore, advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy, and I am now in the early stages of that treatment. This, of course, came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family,” she said in video, among the rest, and asked for privacy.
In the absence of Kate and Charles, it is their respected spouses, Prince William and Queen Camilla, who stepped in and took on most of the royal duties.
Over the years, Kate and Charles has shown that the bond between them is truly an unbreakable one.
Prince William and Kate MIddleton arrived at St. Paul’s Cathedral for the thanksgiving service marking Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, then-Prince Charles blew Kate a kiss, an act highly adored by royal fans who were quick to comment with one writing that Kate is the daughter Charles has always wanted.
When Kate disclosed her diagnosis with the public, she received support from fans and family, and of course, King Charles was among them. Charles said he was “so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as she did” and added that the monarch has “remained in the closest contact with his beloved daughter-in-law throughout the past weeks.”
Speaking of her importance and influence within the royal family, it has been said that Kate is the reason for the strong relationship between Charles and William, which hasn’t always been the perfect one. In fact, the father and son has gone through some rocky times over the years and their relationship was on and off, but Kate played an essential role in bringing them closer together.
Speaking on The Royal Beat, royal commentator Victoria Arbiter explained that Prince William and King CHarles’ relationship “hasn’t always been the easiest.”
Moreover, she stated that Kate Midleton has been the key person in helping them establish a tighter bond, as she acts as a “healing balm.”
“I think we can look at Kate – she’s so close to her own family, family is so important to her. [The Princess of Wales has been a really wonderful healing balm for Prince William and his father as well. Because that relationship hasn’t always been the easiest,” Arbiter said.
“I think she’s just managed to bring a real sense of warmth and camaraderie and family to the Royal Family.”
Victoria Arbiter further said that going through the same struggle of battling cancer at the same time has only made the bond between Kate and Charles even stronger, adding that they “would have found tremendous comfort in each other, going through something so similar.”
According to reports, during the time Kate was staying at the London Hospital following her surgery, and Charles was just starting his treatments at the time, he visited his daughter-in-law.
“He has always had a very good bond with her. I don’t think it is presumptuous to say that she is like the daughter he never had,” royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith told People. “He shares with William an impulse to protect her. They are in this together, Kate and the King.”
A source close to the family told the outlet that since Charles and Kate are “two patients going through a common health experience,” they “are bound to have a close connection.” Moreover, the source added. “imagine there was some comfort [for Kate] in seeing that it was possible to balance some private information without there being an imperative to share all.”
A day before she shared her diagnosis with the public, it was reported that Kate and the King had a private lunch together at Windsor Castle.
That the King is very supportive of Kate is very obvious, but according to royal experts he’s also very worried for her condition.
Speaking with Hello! Magazine, Robert Hardman, author of Charles III: New King, New Court, said, “It’s very clear that he’s extremely concerned about her. I think he wants to make sure as much as he can that if there’s anything he can do, he will do, because, for a very fit and healthy young mother, this is a different order of magnitude to someone having to deal with this in their 70s.”
He firther added: “I’m sure he’s been a source of comfort for her in the same way she’s probably been a source of comfort for him. I think it cannot but have brought them even closer together. He’s always had a huge regard for his daughter-in-law. He thinks she’s just wonderful.
“When people are in hospital, they don’t really want a fuss. But the fact was: the King was there, she was there, and the Queen was there with him as well. And they did go around to check and reassure the Princess. It’s a reminder that the Windsors are mortals like the rest of us. And we have to have great sympathy with the fact that they are undergoing an absolute shock of a lifetime, except they’re having to undergo it with all of us talking about it.”